Orphans Call
by DouglasWolf
Summary: A young man's yearning to explore the stars.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, here is a story that fall into the Elite Dangerous universe. Enjoy.

I was actually shaking with anticipation! I hadn't slept at all last night waiting for this moment. My stomach hurt, was I going to throw up? No, it's just nerves. My knees felt like they were going to collapse at any second. But to any onlooker passing by, I was completely still. Just some young kid staring at the bay door to the launch hanger. _Oh God, maybe I was going to throw up_! The retrieval drone seemed to take forever to get the launch hangar. All my senses were overreacting. The smell of hydrogen filled my nose like I was actually sitting in a fuel tank. Any noise sounded like an explosion. My new clothes felt hot and suddenly very confining. My mouth tasted dry like old synth leather. The old flight duffel I had weighed a ton, the strap burned into my hand and shoulder. I was so nervous.

I found myself randomly looking around the launch hanger, Trevithick Dock was all I knew. I've never left the station before, being an orphan and apprenticed to a tailor really didn't require the need for off station travel. Being this early in the morning it really wasn't too busy in the hanger, not much was going on. A few ships here and there with the usual cargo transfers and repairs going on. A few pilots but mainly just dock workers. No one seemed to be paying me much attention. That I was glad for.

I absently scratched my chin thinking of what my old master Mr. Ghaw, was doing right now. He was probably organizing his shop like he did every morning before opening. He was such a creature of habit. He had said his goodbyes last night and went to bed at his usual time. He didn't try to talk me out of leaving, both him and his wife just said be careful and visit whenever I came back into the system. I would miss them both but I never really felt that close to them.

My apprenticeship under his teachings was rather boring. He and his wife were both very reserved and quiet for the most part. Always just listening and silently nodding when engaged in any conversation, never really showing any emotions. I knew he wasn't happy with my leaving, he never openly said it but the way he would set his mouth into a stern frown told me otherwise. Maybe it was because they didn't have any kids and wanted me take over the shop one day. I really didn't care for the tailor business but I did my job dutifully and with respect. I felt obligated to him, he didn't have to take me in as an apprentice but he did. I've heard horror stories from other kids growing up and how they were treated, so I considered myself very lucky. But on my off time, I always seemed to end up at the docks or wherever commanders hung out. Their stories and goings-on always fascinated me, and created a yearning in me to go into the black and create my own destiny.

Also apprenticing as a tailor had its perks and helped in this matter. Most of the commanders that came in always had questions or just talked away insensibly, often letting slip juicy little secrets that could come in handy at times. I took many an odd job because of these rambling pilots. Cleaning ships, helping with repairs or running station errands on my off time. It was all fun for me and helped fuel my thirst for anything commander related. It also helped build business for Mr. Ghaw. A lot of pilots would stop into the shop first before even going to the bar, sometimes just to find me to run errands that needed to be done. I was able to acquire quite a small fortune this way to help further my dreams of being a commander. If it wasn't for this, I never would have become a commander with my own ship.

0855, showed my coms pad strapped to my right forearm as I looked at it. _Damn_ , still too early I groaned to myself, I impatiently shook my arm trying to get the clock to speed up somehow. I had ordered the towing bot to retrieve the ship from the longer term storage hangar as soon as I heard I could get the ship. I had to wait till 0900 the next day. Damn automated retrieval drones, no hurry to their programming. Even talking to the hangar master didn't speed up the process, he just chucked and said I had to wait my turn. This is taking forever...

Ping Ding, my coms pad went off. I quickly glanced down again at it strapped to my wrist. _New message_. I pressed the screen and the message popped open. _Delivery of vessel to launch pad 5, eta 10 min. "_ Finally _"_ I grumbled out loud. Just a few minutes longer.

After what seemed like a small eternity, the bay doors to the storage hanger started to open. The flashing lights and the audible alarm on the door made my heart beat even faster. The retrieval drones' lights were so bright I couldn't see the ship at first but it was slowly coming into view. And there it was my new ship, a SideWinder. I wanted to run to my launch pad to beat the drone there but I wanted to play it cool. I didn't want the other pilots in the launch hangar to see my excitement and laugh at me.

I sauntered my way over to the maintenance terminal trying to act like I've done this a million times before. I quickly glanced around the launch bay to see if anyone was watching me, nothing, everyone else was in their own little world. The maintenance terminal screen was still dark, I touched it to activate it but nothing happened. _What,_ I thought to myself as I started to panic, _why is this not working,_ as I started to press harder and harder to get the thing to activate. Nothing was working, _NO, NO, NO,_ I screamed in my head as I got more frustrated by the second. Suddenly the screen flickered on, startled, I pulled my hand away _. Commander Wolfe3 press for message,_ the screen said, atop an overlay of a simple SideWinder schematic with a quick reference printout of the ship diagnostics. During my argument with the terminal I didn't notice the retrieval drone set the ship into place and detach itself.

I pressed the message block. _Welcome Commander Wolfe3_ , it read, _please confirm payment of 100 credits for the towing fee. Press confirm below to make payment._ I overzealously pressed the payment button. _Thank you_ , it responded _. Ship now released to owner Commander Wolfe3. Remember to follow all station regulations when exiting the launch bay, Have a nice day._ The screen flickered back to the main diagnostic screen. Fuel tank full, Ammo, none needed, Damage, none all systems 100%. This is it, I thought to myself as I slowly looked up.

So there I was, just standing there, looking at my new ship, an old but trusty SideWinder. She wasn't fancy, hell, she was older than anything I've ever seen before. She probably was the first sidewinder to be retrofitted with the new Frame Shift Drive, I grinned to myself. She was covered in a ton of dust but no visible damage that I could see. She was still dark, power wasn't turned on, but the access hatch was unlocked for manual access.

I don't know how long I just stood there starring at my new ship, taking in every line, panel joint, landing gear strut, just basking in the newness of what I had just acquired.

"Ahem" a voice coughed behind me. I turned around to see a hanger maintenance worker grinning at me like an idiot. "You're first ship huh?" said the grease covered man as he pointed at my ship.

"Yeah," I said smiling, I couldn't help it I was so excited. "How could you tell?" I asked him back as I sheepishly shrugged my shoulders and hung my head down.

"Ah, don't worry about it kid," he said as he jokingly punched my arm. "I've seen a lot of new pilots in my time and you definitely have that new pilot, I'm lost look" He started to laugh at me. "Fly safe kid, Fly safe" was the last thing he said as he turned and walked away. I just shook my head at the old man and tuned back to my ship. _Here we go_ , I thought as I stood up straight and started to walk to that way.

I started to make my way to the nose of the ship, I continued to look at her lines and admire her for what she was, my own spaceship. As I got to the ship, I stretched my hand out to touch her, feeling the cool metal for the first time, a sudden shiver shook my whole body. _Wow I can't believe I'm doing this_ , I thought to myself. I continued to drag my fingers down the whole length of the SideWinder, feeling every bump, panel seam, and rivet dimple as I made my way to the access hatch. Once there I grabbed the simple round indented handle and gave it a turn to the left, a large clunk sound confirmed that the dead bolts had retracted and the hatch swung open with ease. I was instantly greeted but the smell of un-circulated stale air from inside the ship. I looked into the dark interior took a deep breath and started to climb in.


	2. Chapter 2

Damn it was dark in here, and I didn't have a flashlight. In my excitement last night, while packing my last few things, I completely forgot about my flashlight. O _h well,_ I just shrugged my shoulders and dropped my duffel at my feet. It was only 12 meters to the cockpit but it was very hard to see. The small amount of light coming through the canopy didn't really provide any usable light, I was only able to make out a dark shape where I think the flight seat was supposed to be.

"HAHAHA", I nervously laughed out loud, thinking that _if_ this was a bigger ship, with multiple decks, I would be screwed. I continued to move forward slowly not really knowing where I was stepping. I stretched out my hands trying to feel if anything was blocking my path as I crept towards the front of the ship.

My hand came into contact with the cool metal of the flight seat, my fingertips feeling the scratchy nylon of the seat fabric. It felt comforting for some reason as I stood there in the cockpit, not sure why, but it just did. Glancing around the small dark space I took in everything for the first time. Sure I've done the flight simulator dozens of times so I knew the lay out but nothing compares to the real thing. I quickly found the power button on the right hand control panel and pushed it. Slowly the control panels and flight boards started flickering to life. The life support system kicked on with a faint humming buzz, I could feel air starting to circulate around me. In the back of the ship a few clicks, whines, and thuds sounded as the engines and shield generator started to power up. I could see the thrusters outside the canopy start to glow blue readying themselves for use. I glanced behind me through the bulkhead door to see the path that I had just taken to see what it looked like. Not really impressive, a very tiny flight kitchen next to a small bunk set into the wall. The latrine unit was across from the bunk but it was all set in the open space of the cargo module area. Not much in the way of privacy, then again it was just me. A few small lights placed in strategic spots to provide light but just barely. Everything was grey, no color, just metal grey, except for the small blue control screens scattered here and there for more in depth look into whatever they controlled. A big red light caught my eye towards the back of the ship. OH CRAP, the access hatch was still unlocked and the door was open. That would have been bad. I hurried to the back of the ship stepping over my duffel still laying on the floor as I pressed the Hatch close button. A rewarding snick and thud noise told me the hatch was closed and so did the hatch position light turning green.

Back in the cockpit I slowly sat down in the flight seat for the first time. I was actually surprised on how comfortable it was. From the way other commanders complained and bitched on sitting in the seat all the time, I figured the seat was made out of mold form metal. I wasn't a big person but it was a nice snug fit. The station system menu hologram lite up in front of me as I stretched out my hands for the flight controls. I visibly flinched as I wasn't expecting it to pop up like that.

"Wow, am I jumpy or what" I said to no one. Looking both right and left popped up the navigation and stat screens, good they both work. I grabbed the flight control stick and the throttle control and wiggled them around to see how both felt in response. Both felt good and clean, no hiccups of bur spots in their feel. Nice and clean movement.

"Flight controls are just like a woman, be nice and gentle when you use them, unless you like it rough like me". I smiled as I remembered Ms. Yobi's sage advice ringing through my head. She would always laugh and wink when she said that. I would instantly start blushing and she would rib me even harder. "Sorry kid your still got a lot to learn." She was a loud person, always laughing and joking around with everyone, a complete opposite of what I was used to with Mr. Ghaw. It was difficult to get used to but she was a patient flight instructor, which I was grateful for.

I scanned back over at the module screen making sure everything was active and nothing was turned off. Everything looked good, no issues, so I could launch. I quickly fastened my flight harness, tightening the straps around my body so I was comfortable but not too tight. I pressed the launch button on the station system screen. The preflight checks were quickly run through, all controls checked off, good no issues. The launch pad started to move. The overhead bay doors opened and the lift platform descended below me. The ship lurched and bucked a little but not bad, a smooth ride considering. As the ship lifted through the launch door to the blue glow of the slot came into view. I started to become more nervous again. I didn't know what waited for me on the other side of that blue gateway to freedom. Adventure, glory, riches, or death.

The blast shield in front of me lowered and the loud bang of the docking clamps shook my small little ship.

"Ship released, engines engaged, landing gear retracted." The ship computer spoke to me for the first time, in a rather generic female voice _. I wonder if I could change that later_ , I thought to myself. I gingerly applied lift thrust to gain altitude, I didn't know how the ship would handle and didn't want to crash into the other side of the launch bay my first trip out. The ship shuddered a little bit but slowly started to climb. I angled the nose of the craft towards the exit and applied forward thrust. The ship seemed a little sluggish, not really accelerating quickly. I looked over at the engine read out, it showed all green? _What is going on_. I applied more forward thrust but again it accelerated slowly. _What's wrong,_ oh my landing gear, _I'm an idiot_ I thought as I retracted the landing gear. Instantly the ship jumped forward, quickly shooting towards the exit.

"Crap, crap, crap" I grunted as I tried to correct my approach to the exit, I was too low, I was going to hit the wall below the slot. I pulled up on the stick trying to make the proper adjustments. A bang and an awful screeching noise rewarded my attempt as I hit the bulk head of the mail slot. I flinched and ground my teeth at the horrible sound it made. I popped out the other end, unceremoniously and at a weird angle but I made it. 100% hull strength showed on the indicator, lucky me.

I looked forward absent mindedly, more focused on the possible damage to my ship but did a double take. My jaw dropped and I audibly gasped. Space, empty but beautiful, I was dumb struck. The light from the stars, the glow of the galactic core, the dark black of nothing in-between everything else. Sure I had seen space from observation ports and windows from inside the station, but this didn't compare. I felt so tiny and minuscule just floating around inside my small Sidewinder. I was just a tiny speck in this huge universe, insignificant in every way.

I don't know how long I just kept staring out at the vastness of what was in front of me but I was shocked, amazed and humbled all in the same breath. Still in a daze I noticed the distance indicator showed I was 35km from the station, heading in no particular direction. I shook my head to clear my self-induced stupor.

"Let's see what this baby can do" I said as wiggled slightly in the seat steading myself. I pushed the throttle fully opened and the ship shot forward. The slight G increase pushed me back into the seat. I flipped the stick left and right doing barrel rolls to get used to the response of the craft, something made a squishy muffled plopping noise behind me but I didn't think it was important, _maybe the fuel tanks_? I choose to ignore it as I continued to goof with the flight controls, up and down on the stick, rudder control left and right, and thrust control, all just to see what the ship handled like. Pitching wildly about climbing and diving. If anyone flying by saw me, they surly would have thought I was a drunk pilot flying around like a flopping fish.

Oh I was so happy flipping my ship around doing whatever crazy maneuver I could think of, my face hurt from grinning so much. Oh, the boost button, I suddenly remembered. I quickly pressed it, and a curious windup noise sounded behind me and BOOM, my ship shoot forward, pressing me hard into the seat. _WOW this is cool_ , I thought as I continued to fly and boost my Sidewinder like a little kid with a new toy. Then I occurred to me that I hadn't checked out how quickly the ship could stop. I pulled back on the throttle to bring the ship to a standstill and hit the boost button again. I was rewarded with a boom as I wildly shoot forward. At maximum velocity I pulled the throttle back into full reverse. I could feel the ship to start slowing down as I was pulled forward into my flight harness.

WHAP, something slammed into the back of my head really hard, I was seeing stars. I tried to put my now hurting head back into the seat to clear my head but something was between me and it. _What the hell was that, ouch_ , I reached back and felt something big and heavy.

"AARRGGHH" I moaned as a pulled my duffel bag from behind my sore neck and head. I had forgot to stow it in all the excitement. "Damn that hurt you idiot." I said out loud. I unbuckled and floated to the back of the ship, found the bunk locker and angrily shoved my duffle into it. "What a stupid rookie mistake." That really hurt. _Do I even have a med kit aboard? Probably not_ , if there was it would most likely be expired. I headed back to the cockpit nursing my hurting head and ego as I went.

 _All right time to get serious_ , I thought as I sat back down and strapped in. I really hadn't thought where I would go once I had my ship. Everything up too this point was just about getting to this point, no real consideration about what to do afterwards, no real plan. My brain had shut down on me, I couldn't think of anywhere to go. I looked at my navigation panel flipping through the different systems, some close by that I could jump to, but others too far for my ship. I couldn't make up my mind.

 _Huh, well there's Eravate, didn't Mr. Ghaw have a guy there that sent him fabrics and such,_ I remembered. Ackerman market sounded like a good Idea, still in Hudson space so should be pretty safe for me.

I quickly maneuvered my ship till the hud was aligned with the system marker for Eravate _. Only a 4.16lyr jump so this should be quick._ I apprehensively activated my Frame shift drive.

"Frame shift drive charging" said the ship computer. My hud unit popped up with the recharge rate, a deep winding noise spooled up behind me. I tensed up, gripping the flight controls tighter. The ship started to vibrate, the FDL charge indicator reach full bars

"Four," the ships voice started to count down alongside the hud counter. "Three, two, one. Engage." I tensed even harder. A curious halo formed in front of my ship as streaks of light started to flash by my ship as I accelerated faster and faster. A huge BOOM resonated through my ship as I entered Witch space for the first time.

The simulators did not prepare me for this. The noise alone was very strange, the colors that flashed by looked so alien and different it was downright frightening. Suddenly the thoughts of Thargroids popped in my head as my small ship bounced around. The old timer's stories of being attacked in Witch space were scary enough, but to actually be in it, totally defenseless, didn't help my nerves. I looked through my cockpits canopy looking for anything that might look like an alien ship, I've seen very old pictures of them but would have no clue in what to actually look for.

The noise level increased suddenly ending with a banging pop. My canopy became filled with a huge new star as my ship exited Witch space. _I made it_ , _my first jump and everything is good_. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I pulled my ship around to head into the Eravate system. I quickly opened my nav panel and selected Ackerman Market, no sense in sticking around to meet a pirate! _Only 273ls to go, this should be a quick flight,_ I made quick work of lining the ships hud up with my intended destination, there in the distance was my goal. I smiled as I pushed the throttle to full power as I headed deeper into the system.


	3. Chapter 3

I toyed with the condensation that was building up on my glass. I didn't even like Vodka but I was drinking it any way. I didn't want to offend the commander that bought me the drink, but he was so loud and very annoying. My luck must be crappy today, bad enough to run into this guy after the landing I had. I squirmed in my seat, the hard vinyl covering made my butt hot and sweaty. The other commanders sitting at the table were laughing at some joke someone else had said. I really wasn't paying attention to the conversation, I wasn't in a very good mood, but I halfheartedly chuckled anyway, pretending I was engaged in the conversation.

It figured that out of the twelve bars in this station, the pilot that was behind me on approach would also walk into the same bar I was in. I just wanted a Yukon and soda to calm my nerves but nope, that didn't happen. Instead this guy bangs into the bar laughing and yelling about the pilot that landed at pad nine, that screwed all sorts of pooch. He kept asking where's Wolf something, any one seen them. Well the barkeep being such a nice guy as he was, waved the guy over. He must have remembered my name from my transaction card because he pointed me out. I tried politely to decline his offer of a drink, but he wouldn't have it. He insisted that I sit at a table with him and the other commanders that he knew. Begrudgingly I sat down with him after the customary rounds of introductions.

My landing had been less than stellar, and that's putting it nicely. My prior landings at other stations have been decent. Hell, as the saying goes, "Any landing you walk away from is good." Didn't really leave me feeling any better about it. I don't know how I did it but after clearing the slot I somehow hit the boost button instead of the landing gear switch. So after trying some crazy maneuvering to avoid the back wall of the hanger, I ended up slamming into the station. Lost my shields, hull strength down to 50%, and a busted rear landing strut was my reward for my effort's. The traffic controller for my pad went crazy, yelling and cussing, even went as far as saying he was going to pull my license. Screw him, it's not like I was the first pilot in history to make that mistake. Back at Trev, I've seen it happen a few times myself watching through the observation windows.

"Hey, are you gonna drink that or just play with it." Said the commander sitting next to me, as he pointed at my drink. This was the annoying one that made me sit at this table. I faked a smile at him as I took a big gulp.

"Yep, you gonna buy me another?" I asked, more than little agitated at this guy.

"HAHAHA." He laughed back. "Damn the cheek of this new commander! All ready figured out how to get free drinks!" The other commanders all laughed in response.

"He's leaned quick." A short fat guy across the table grunted as he lifted up his glass. "Bar keep, another round, same as before." He yelled over his shoulder. The bar tender nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"So." The first annoying guy said as he turned in his seat and looked at me, acting all serious. I could tell this was just an act for the others sitting around the table. "Now that you have that new fancy ship, whatcha gonna do with it? Become a great bounty hunter, or some fancy tycoon trader, what?"

"Raxxla." I stated in a serious tone. I mainly said it to be sarcastic, hoping to get this guy to shut up.

"Oh, really, you'll need to learn how to fly better first before you chase that ghost!" He said as he looked at the at the others sitting around the table, finishing his drink in two big swigs. The other commanders became suddenly quite as all of them looked at me intently. He curled in his lips to his teeth as he spoke. "You're crazy if that's what you're going for."

"Well you gotta have a dream right." I told him as the waitress got to our table handing out the drinks. I smiled at her in a thanking manner as I took my drink.

"Strange dream." A different commander commented that was sitting at the table as well. He was quieter and more serious acting then the others, wearing dark robes with the hood of the cloak pulled over his head. "Strange dreams indeed." I didn't recognize his accent from anything I've heard before. "What have you heard of it?" He asked me staring in a very intense way.

"I, I," I stammered, not really sure how I should proceed with this. "Well, you know, just the stories that you hear. It's out there somewhere, right?" I looked at the other commanders starting to regret that I brought this up.

"You are an idiot!" Said a different guy as he pointed his glass at me. He was much older than the rest of us around the table. He was wearing a thread bare uniform top with patches and pins that I couldn't make out from across the table. His wild grey hair framed his aging sunken eyes as his face became dark as if he remembered something long ago. He started to become more agitated, moving around more in his chair as he straightened up.

"Captain, he's too young." Said the commander next to him as he put his hand on the now angry man's arm. "He don't know any better."

"Your damn right he don't know any better." The captain spat at me as he slammed down half empty glass. "Screw this kid." He stood up and stormed off out of the bar bumping into people as he stormed out.

The annoying pilot next to me started to laugh nervously. "Wow kid, making friends already are we." As he looked at the others.

I stood up. "Well, it's time for me to leave." I looked around the table. "Thanks for the good time but I need sleep." I chugged down my drink not really listening to what the others had to say. I made a bee line for the door, dodging tables and patrons as I went.

Once in the corridor I just stood there, took a deep breath in and let out a raggedy sigh. I wasn't really tired but I wanted to get out of there in a bad way. I picked a direction and just started walking. The corridor was filled with the typical shops and vendors, people milling about, some in a hurry, others not. This station was just like the few other dozens that I've visited since I left home, nothing really spectacular.

After a while of just wandering around I decided to head to the hanger to see how the repairs on my Sidewinder where going. The maintenance boss said it wouldn't take that long but nine hundred credit worth of damage sure hurt my ego. When I got there, the maintenance crew was just pulling the last landing jack away from under my ship. She looked good with the fresh coat of paint on her nose but it still looked out of place with how the rest was faded _. Well if that aint telling_ , I complained to myself. The maintenance crew was still cleaning up after themselves so I had about forty-five minutes before I could get to my ship.

My stomach started to growl, I was hungry, three drinks in on an empty gut wasn't a good Idea. Looking around I spotted the pilots lounge which was nearby, so I headed that way. Inside it was empty except for the room attendant behind the counter. He didn't even look up as I walked in, he just kept at whatever he was doing behind the counter that I couldn't see. The room was just another bland corporate space were everything was non-descript to keep it simple and neat, nothing very interesting. I sat down at an empty table against the far wall and started to play with the screen set into the table. The food menu didn't show anything that looked appetizing so I selected a simple noodle bowl with chicken. _Well I hope its chicken_ , I worried. Scanning through the Galnet section was rather boring, nothing of any real interest, a few news articles, systems state updates, blah, blah, blah.

"Ahem." The room attendant coughed at me. Damn he was sneaky; didn't realize he had walked up on me like that.

"Thanks." I said as I took my bowl from him, he didn't say anything as he turned around and left. I poked at the noodles and meat chunks testing them with my fork. I was hesitant, checking to seeing if it was real meat or just synthetic crap. It looked real enough and after a quick taste felt right as I ate it. _Not bad,_ I nodded in agreement too myself. I returned my attention to the screen as I continued to eat and selected the Bulletin Board section. A quick scan left me disappointed, nothing really stood out to me. Most of the jobs I couldn't accept due to my low ranking or my ship wasn't big enough for the required cargo capacity. The few bounty missions that was available were for pilots with a higher rank than me. It would be a suicide run against a higher level pilot, no I needed something quick and easy.

Kind of disappointed with my lack of finding anything I could do, I scrolled to the last posting and found something. A simple courier job for the House of Grembo, for a profit of nine hundred credits. All they wanted was someone to run a data package to the Barratt Dock in the Swaza system. It was only Seventeen light years away, seemed simple enough, and that would only be two jumps for me. I was a little light in the pocket anyway with my recent repair bill and fuel costs, so I could use the money. Happy with my find I slid my transaction card thought the reader accepting the mission. A simple message flashed across the screen thanking me for accepting the mission and that a representative of the Gembo house would be contacting me shortly at the lounge. Not knowing when the person would show up, I started to eat my food faster.

I had barely finished eating when a couple walked into the lounge. They weren't talking to each other and both had serious looks on their face. I almost laughed out loud at the sight of them in their cheap black suits, thinking, _wow what a cliché this pair makes_ but thought better of it at the last second. Both the man and woman locked eyes on me and headed my way as I was the only one in the lounge. The woman was holding a simple brown envelope.

"Are you Commander Wolfe3?" She asked in a very heavy Russian accent as she got to my table.

"Yes I am." I stated as nonchalantly as possible, trying my best to act the cool, why-are-you-bothering-me, pilot routine that I could do.

"Here is your package. You have ten hours to deliver." She stated, as she thrusted the envelope in my direction. Her partner just stood there silent with no emotion whatsoever on his face. As soon as I had the envelope in my hand they both turned around and left quickly. I turned the package over and on seal lock said Silver Dynamic Interstellar. I looked at my comms pad and it showed 1613, my ship should be ready by now, time to get going.

Sure enough all the maintenance crew was gone and the pad was clean when I got back to my ship. A quick scan of the pads terminal showed my ship to be all green and ready to go. I hurried inside to get my prefights done and launch. Not wanting a repeat of the duffel bag incident I properly stowed the envelope in a small cabinet and got settled in. Took my time getting out of the station though, didn't know if the same traffic controller from my landing was working or not but didn't want to find out either.

Now that I had several jumps under my belt, Witchspace didn't bother me anymore. For the most part travel amongst the systems was rather boring, just a lot of super cruising around, watching the system body's pass me by. I do keep an eye on the radar screen though, making sure I'm clear of any traffic.

Jumping into Swaza was uneventful and I plodded the coarse to Barratt Dock. Four hundred and 30 light seconds to the station would be a quick run of a few minutes. I settled back into my chair letting the ship just fly, not really trying to keep a controlled heading. I started to flip through the navigation panel checking out the system bodies and if there were any interesting features.

"Interdiction detected." The ships computer said in a dead pan way.

"What the heck." I said as I straightened myself up. The hud was all lit up with warning alerts and a ship escape vector path. I've never been interdicted before so I didn't know what to do.

My comms panel flashed a message from a Hamilton Snow. 'I want your cargo, give it to me. Submit now or die.' I was having a hard time trying to fight the interdiction. No matter how hard I tried pitching, rolling and using yaw, I couldn't keep my escape vector properly lined up to get away. I was slipping out of super cruise more and more, outside the canopy, space was becoming a blue blur. I didn't want to damage my ship so I pulled back on the throttle to reduce my speed.

With a large reverberating bang my ship came out of super cruise rather hard, throwing me into my flight harness at the ship came to a stop.

"Ship scan detected." Said my ships computer.

'Good, what do have for me.' The comms message said from Snow.

'Nothing, no cargo.' I sent back.

'You have to have something for me.' Came the reply.

'No, I have nothing.' I was starting to worry as my radar showed his ship, an Adder, slowly move closer to my ship. I began trying to think of an exit strategy for this situation. I couldn't tell what the pilots rank was without moving my ship, my scanner was a forward looking unit, so I had to be facing him to get it to work. I might be able to maneuver around to face him but if I started to move, he might fire on me. My navigation panel said I was only thirteen kilometers from Barratt Dock, so maybe I could make a run for it?

'You lie, cargo NOW.' It sounded like he was becoming impatient. I had to do something and quick.

'One moment please'. I typed back hoping for some time to think. I watched the radar as he took a high and up position behind me. I pondered for a second.

I put four pips to engines on my system panel, and waited a second longer. His ship didn't move. I took in a quick breath and slammed my throttle into full reverse. I was quickly pulled forward into my seat as my ship shot backwards. In a second, my ship passed under his and I saw the belly of his ship through my canopy. I quickly hit the super cruise button to initiate low wake. The Adder's thrusters burst to life as he tried to get a bead on me. I waited a few seconds to make sure his was fully facing me before I pushed the throttle hard to full forward and pressed the engines boost button. My ship accelerated instantly in his direction as I pulled up and right to avoid colliding with him head on. I quickly flew over him, my ship started to slow down, I hit the boost button again. My radar unit showed that he was in pursuit and only one and a half kilometers behind me. My shield indicator started to light up. _Crap, he's firing at me_! I started to wildly pitch my craft about, up and down, left and right, to keep him from landing shots on me. The recharge rate for my engine boost seemed to be taking forever before I could boost again. The charge rate for my frame shift drive was also taking an eternity as well.

'Coward.' Came the message from the comms panel, I didn't care, I just wanted to get away. I kept my eyes locked on my radar screen as I tried my best to keep him behind me as I slowly gained some distance between us. My frame shift indicator just had a few seconds longer as my shields started to falter. I clenched up as my shields finally gave out.

"Shield's off line." My computer stated matter-of-factly.

"I know, I know," I yelled back at her. "Jump, jump now will you." I was starting to hear the Adder's pulse lazor's hitting my hull. I hit the boost button again and pulled back on the stick, trying to aim my ship at him in a last ditch effort to slow him down. It must have worked because his ship started to flounder around like he didn't know where to go.

Suddenly the telltale flashes of lights filled my canopy as my ship entered supper cruise. I didn't waste any time as I reacquired nav lock on Barratt Dock and headed in that direction. I let out a tired sigh as I let myself relax. My hull indicator showed eighty-eight percent remaining. I laughed nervously and thanked God for my luck in getting away. My scope didn't show him pop back into super cruise as I continued on my way to Barratt. At eight hundred kilometers from the station I dropped out with the radar still clear.

"Delacy, Whiskey Oscar Lima. Welcome to our station. Submit clearance request before entry." The station controller beeped across my comms. _Yes, I made it, but how did that Adder know of my courier package? Was he a pirate or something else?_ I made quick work of requesting docking permission as I lined up for the mail slot _. I better concentrate on this so I don't crash again._ I chided myself.

"Landing authorized, got to pad three." The controller told me. _Ok, here we go, by the numbers now, take it slow,_ I told myself as I passed through the slot.


	4. Chapter 4

The last few months have been a blurry grind. Nothing really new or interesting has happened as I've flown around space trying to make a few credits here and there. Sure I've been interdicted and attempts have been made by pirates for my cargo. But it's like I've been on autopilot right along with my ship this whole time. Stations, systems, even people all seem to become just as common as the bolts in my bulkheads. Nothing stands out anymore. I'm stuck in a rut. But not today! Today I have a purpose that should end this seemingly endless rut I've fallen into.

The old girl has developed a rather peculiar squeak in the connecting bulkhead between the cockpit and the cargo area. I've tried locating it and fixing it myself, but no amount of lubricant spray or ship diagnostic scans, could locate the offending noise. I've started to become accustom to the noise and don't really notice it any more but it seems to have gotten louder and more frequent as of late. Don't really care to remember which station it was now, but decided to have a stations maintenance crew take a stab at it. The repair crew on duty seemed happy to look into the phantom noise at the time, all smiles and quickly got to it once I paid for the work.

Once out of the hanger area, I decided to spend a little bit of my hard earned money that I was accumulating. I did have a million credits to my name now, so I could pamper myself a bit if I wanted. I found a nice little café on the promenade and had a nice dinner of fish and vegetables with some local spices that were rather pleasant. The wait staff was very nice and recommended a few places to shop and even a motel suggestion. Being in a rather content mood, I took them up on the offer and went to explore the local shops.

This station had the typical shops that you could find at all the other stations in the bubble. Local goods shops, produce markets, clothing and tailors, bars of course, and even a small gambling establishment. Though they did have a rather nice Sword and Knife shop that had some interesting blades for sale. The sales person must have been paid by commission because he sure did try to sell me this rather large Falchion that looked rather odd and was of poor build quality. I kept laughing at him as he tried to pressure me into buying it but it wasn't my style at all. I did end up purchasing a basic sheathed survival knife, nothing fancy, kind of plain but of good quality steel.

After a bit of wondering around I did find a tailor that had the style of clothes that I like. The shop owner was a decent fellow, was a little pushy with the newer fashions that he wanted to sell, but I did end up buying a few simple shirts and a pair of Denim jeans that I liked. The shop owner even offered to launder any other clothes I had, if I was going to spend the night cycle at the station. He would send a runner to any hotel room if I wanted and he would have them returned after an hour into the day cycle.

Sleeping in a zero gravity environment is comfortable but strapping oneself into a bunk isn't enjoyable for me. So getting to actually sleep in a bed with gravity would be a nice change of pace. The Hotel I chose had a real water shower in the room as well, so that was an added bonus since I hadn't had one of those since I left Trev'. Sure sonic units "work" but it doesn't feel the same.

After a quick trip back to my ship for the laundry and sending it off with the runner, I settled in for the night. I must have spent hours in the shower just letting the hot water run down my back enjoying the sensation. I hope I wasn't being charged by the gallon for this, but it felt so good being able to relax like this for a change. After my incredibly long shower, I settled into bed. Oh, it was so nice and comfortable I fell asleep instantly.

The next morning at 0800 on the dot, a knock on my door awoke me from my incredibly peaceful slumber. The tailor's runner had my clean folded clothes for me, he didn't say a word, just handed me the clothes and walked away before I could thank him or even tip him. _Ok that was different_ , I thought to myself, _I'll have to swing by that shop and personally deliver the tip to him_.

I made quick work of getting my things together and checked out of the Hotel. I didn't have that many things anyway but I was hungry. A good breakfast would be nice in continueing this rather pleasant time I've been having here at this station. Getting my stuff to the ship and maybe go back to that café and see what their breakfast menu offered, seemed like a good idea. _Yep that's what I want to do_ , I decided as I quickly headed to the Hanger.

My SideWinder was parked on the hanger floor but no maintenance personnel were to be seen. I checked the pad's comm unit to see if the repair crew had left any messages for me. There was one.

'Commander Wolfe3, please proceed to the stations Maintenance Chief's Office at your earliest convenience please. Office hours are 0800-1700 local station time, Monday through Friday only.'

 _What was this,_ I pondered. _Did they find something else wrong, this can't be good?_ I threw my duffel into the cargo hatch and looked around the hanger for the office I was supposed to go to. I spotted it next to the pilots lounge not too far away. The comms unit on my wrist showed 1028, I shrugged my shoulders and headed that way.

Opening the door to the maintenance office, I was instantly blasted in the face with the smells of oils, and grease. The front office was littered with parts and display pieces selling various items. The woman behind the counter was a disheveled mess with grease stains on her coveralls. She didn't say anything as I walked in, she just continued to stare at the comms terminal that was in front of her.

"Hi I'm Commander Wolfe3." I told her. "I have a comms message to see the Maintenance Chief about my ship." She didn't say anything but lifted her greasy hand and pointed to the door at the back of the small office.

"Ok, thank you." I said as I knocked on the counter in front of her to get any kind of response out of her as I made my way to the door. She didn't do anything but continue working on the comms unit.

The shop area I walked into was a huge room with various ships and ship parts scattered about in different stages of break down or ongoing repairs. There were a few mechanics scattered about working on the different things all oblivious to the fact I had just walked in. I looked around for a bit not sure who I was supposed to talk with.

"Hey what do you want?" A voice behind me said. I turned around to find a man sitting at a desk behind me that I failed to notice when I walked into the room.

"OH," I said being suddenly surprised like that. "I'm Wolfe3, looking for the Chief. Something about my ship?"

"Yes, the Sidewinder." He stated matter of fact as he shuffled loose papers and small comms pads around his desk. He was a clean cut man with a clean shave, neat hair and a perfectly clean uniform. He seemed out of place with the way the other workers looked in the shop. "The repair bill has changed due to the amount of work that had to be done to fix that squeak you reported." He stared intently at me like he was expecting an argument or fight.

"Oh, ok. What did you find" I told him as I pointed to a chair next to his desk, indicating I wanted to sit down. "I paid the thousand credits before the work was performed, so the bill should be good.

"Go ahead and sit." He waved his hand to the chair. "Yes we gave you an estimate, and yes you paid to have the work done, but there was more work involved than first thought." He started to visibly become agitated as he spoke. "There was a bad section of superstructure next to the cockpit bulkhead that had to have a Non Destructive Inspection done to find the cracks and that wasn't part of the original price. NDI testing isn't cheap and that kind of work isn't done in shop here, so we had to outsource it. And they want their credits now!"

"Ah I see." I mimicked a pained look on my face just to keep this guy on edge. I knew my SideWider was old and was sure to have some major problems down the road, so I really wasn't surprised. "So, what's the damage going to be?"

"You know you should sell that old ship and get a newer model right?" He said as he pointed at a comms tablet, I guess trying to indicate some unseen fact that I didn't know. "These SideWinder's aren't that good and you should really consider a different ship"

"Humm." I took a pondering look just to keep this guy going, knowing where I think this was headed. "Really, but I got that ship from my father, it's been in the family for such a long time, I don't think I could part with her!" I knew that this was a lie but he didn't.

"Well, your operating costs are just going to get larger, if more cracks like this start showing up in different areas, your ship will fall apart on you. A bad failure could leave you stranded somewhere and you don't what that, do you?" He kept looking at his comms pad as he talked.

"I, uh, don't know." I was curious about what this guy had in mind but I also wanted him to get to the point. My stomach was starting to growl. "All right, what's the new balance for the repairs?"

"Look." He pointed his comms pad at me. "I have a deal for you." He put the pad down and picked up another one. "This guy over at the NDI shop wants your SideWinder. He's willing to trade you for a really nice Hauler. Wont charge you a credit for the work done, will call it even for the Sidewinder."

"What? Why does he want my SideWinder? I asked intrigued at this strange request. "You said It's an outdated frame, why mine?" Huh, I could have sworn this was going to be a sales pitch for a ship _he_ had to sell.

"I don't know; this guy was just really interested in it but didn't really say why." He kept looking at the comms tablet like he was reading something over and over. He had an agitated look on his face like he couldn't understand something. "You said that ship was your fathers?" He finally looked up with a scrunched look on his face.

"Yes, it was granddads that was passed down to my father then to me." _Crap_ , I thought _, does this guy know I'm lying?_ I'm a long way from Trev' so how would he know anything about this particular SideWinder? I really didn't know much about it either, being a gift from my old flight instructor.

"Well, the owner history of the vessel registry shows only one owner before you got it. And it was _not_ to a male pilot." The sarcasm in his voice was very noticeable, not sure why he was acting this way but I wanted to end this conversation now and get on the way.

"I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about." I acted tired at this point by stretching both my arms into the air and yawned loudly. I was ready to go and wanted to show this without having to say it. "How much to I owe? I would like to leave now."

"You sure? Won't think it over?" He asked in an almost pleading way. "Five thousand credits, that's what the NDI shop has billed us."

"Do I pay you or the lady up front?" I asked him as I stood up and pointed to the office door. I was done here and wanted him to see that.

"Pay her." Was the last thing he said as he also got up and sulked off into the depths of the maintenance shop.

I quickly paid my bill with the silent lady at the front counter. Again she didn't say anything or even look up during the transaction, just kept typing away at the comms terminal. I felt like making or saying a rude comment or gesture to see if that would get any response out of her but decided that might not be a good idea.

After making it to the stations pilots lounge, I ordered some food and started to play around with the tables comm unit. This whole thing about my Sidewinder had me curious _. What was so special about it? Was Ms. Yobi a person of past interest?_ I goofed around for a while as I ate and did random searches on Galnet for any possible information or clues. Not really finding anything at all, I got bored with the lack of anything interesting and redirected my search.

The maintenance chief did raise a good point about the age of my Sidewinder, maybe it was time to look for something new or at least newer. I found a site on the comms unit called EDDB that I had never used before. It supposedly can find all sorts of stuff for you and listed all the available commodities, ship modules, and even ships for you that you can purchase by system and station. After goofing around with it for bit I found an Adder that wasn't too far away and for a nice price of thirty-five thousand credits. Nice, with just over a million credits in the bank I could buy this and upgrade it nicely however I wanted it. It did have the possibility of having twenty-four tons of cargo space, which is twice the size of my current ship. _And it's a bigger ship over all._ I made up my mind at that point and decided I was going to purchase this ship. I added the system's name to my personal comms unit so I wouldn't forget the system and station name.

Back at my ship, I made quick work of getting my pre-flights done so I could head to my new destination. As I was sitting in the cockpit, I noticed the maintenance chief and another individual standing across the hanger talking and pointing in my general direction. The guy talking to the chief didn't seem happy and was wildly swing his hands about. I wondered if that was the guy that wanted my ship, and wasn't happy about the news of not getting it. _Oh well time to go._ I smirked as I hit the launch button on the stations hud panel. The unknown guy took a few steps in my direction as the thrusters kicked in, lifting me from the pad.

Outside the mass lock of the station, I entered in my destination coordinates in the ships computer, Jitabos system, Finney ring. Thinking to myself that this new adventure would be a nice change of pace and could be interesting. I smiled to myself as I jumped into Witchspace.


	5. Chapter 5

Wolfe3 really wasn't paying attention to what the saleslady was telling him about the old decrepit Cobra Mk III that stood in front of them both. He didn't care about it and it wasn't his choice in the first place. He was here at the shipyard in Finney Ring because he was interested in an Adder that was advertised on EDDB. The saleslady droned on and on about the virtues and greatness of the Cobra which didn't interest him in the least. He found himself absentmindedly nodding in agreement with the lady. Even though, from where he was standing, he could tell this ship was junk with its busted and rusted panels that covered the ship.

"You are lucky; this cobra is priced to sell. And it's a great ship" She tried to make her point by hitting a lower cover panel next to the nose gear of the ship. Instantly, rusty dust started to rain out of a larger than normal gap between the connecting panel seems, covering the floor in a sizeable mess someone would have to clean up later. She gave Wolfe a small sheepish grin as she noticed him looking at the rather telling mess at their feet. "And over here you should see the new dorsal thruster that were just installed" She quickly tried to redirect his gaze from the telling sight. She knew this ship was junk but she wanted it out of her shipyard, she figured this young pilot would be an easy sell. "Don't let the outside fool you, she's got strong bones, great internals and has a million light years left on her yet."

The young pilot was having a hard time trying to keep it together by not laughing at this seriously, over the top, lady. The minute he walked into the shipyard hanger and meet the only sales person on the hanger floor, he knew he was going to be in for one heck of a sales pitch. Growing up as an apprentice to a tailor did have its perks. He had learned that the way someone dresses and personal attire can give rather telling signs on how a person wishes to be perceived. Those on the flashier side of dress, usually try to be bigger than life. Well this lady sure did that with an old earth western theme with cowboy hat, tasseled jacket, snake skin boots and even a six shooter revolver carried in an authentic looking leather holster. She was even trying to drawl out a southern accent at times but really wasn't that good at it. To keep a more of a level head and from bursting into mocking laughter, Wolfe had decided to pay more attention to what he was looking at in front of him, than paying attention to what she was talking about.

As they both walked to the back of the Cobra, Wolfe spotted many more rusted and damaged cover panels. The rear landing gears were in even worse shape with wires and hoses visibly broken and hanging out in the open, not connected to their original locations. He started to have real doubts that this ship was even space worthy and would probably need a ton of work just to get it to power up. As he cleared the back of the ship, he spotted the open cargo hatch leading to the interior area of the ship. Inside was even worse than the outside! Just from where he was standing Wolfe could see broken interior plates, torn locker doors, and hanging light fixtures. The inside of the ship was trashed and a horrible mess. Whoever had the ship last didn't care about much about it and it was obvious. There was also a strange pungent smell that could be smelled, even one meter from the hatch. Wolfe found himself unconsciously taking a few steps back to avoid the disgusting odor. If this wasn't the final nail in the coffin, as the saying goes, for the Cobra then he sure didn't want to find anything else. He turned quickly around to keep from retching and saw what he was originally here for.

The Adder. The Adder that Wolfe was originally interested in, came into view. He let the annoying lady keep rambling on about the pitiful Cobra behind them as he took in the sight of the Adder. He knew what he wanted, he wanted that ship, but felt inclined at this point to let to let the sales pitch continue for just a bit longer. He was slightly shocked that Gale, "Was her name Gale?" He couldn't remember and at this point didn't care either, wasn't fazed by the horrible smell that was coming from the hold of the Cobra. He had enough with the obvious pitch to get rid of the crap ship behind him wanted to get on with the show.

"So, tell me about this Adder?" He interrupted her, not caring about being nice anymore while getting more annoyed by the second. He didn't even look back at her as he started to walk towards the Adder a few meters away. "Gale is it? What's the history?"

"Yes its Gale." She replied in a defeated tone, knowing that her effort to rid herself of this cursed Cobra had failed again. She let out an audible sigh as she continued. "It has had only two previous owners, was used as a taxi between systems if I remember correctly.

"Any maintenance records come with the ship?" Wolfe asked as checked out the nose gear of the craft. Being fed up with how things had been going, he decided to keep inspecting the Adder as she continued on.

Gale took off the large cowboy hat that was starting to make her head sweaty and uncomfortable. She needed a second to get her bearings and rethink her strategy. She was upset with how things were progressing with this young pilot, she thought she could bamboozle him easily. She had done this so many times before that she was sure this would be a quick sell. Never being the one to turn down a challenging sale, she decided to change tactics and down play this lowly Adder. After running her fingers through her now loose hair, she pressed on.

"Not much has happened to it. Just the normal repairs and fixes here and there as needed." Her tone was kept to as matter of fact as possible. "From what I can see, this ship wasn't even used in Combat. Not like it's a combat ship anyway." Her sarcasm was apparent with that last statement.

"Well, I'm no combat pilot, and that's not what I want to do anyway." He had noticed the sarcasm in her voice and decided to keep things civil. "How much flight time on the frame?"

"A little over three thousand light years." Was the curt reply. "It's never been upgraded or modded in anyway. All original from the factory, very basic. You'll have to update a lot of things to get it to be anything decent."

Wolfe looked back over his shoulder at her. "That's not a problem, I don't have to fix anything that some other pilot might have messed up." He continued to the back of the ship, inspecting as he went. He was pleased with what he saw. This ship was taken care of, nothing missing, broken or miss aligned. Over all it looked like a good ship.

"That's not going to be an issue with this ship. It's a very simple layout, utilitarian in function, very simple not much to it." Came her reply, still trying to down play the little ship.

"I like simple, nothing to mess up." He chuckled in response. At the back of the Adder he found the access hatch already open. It was darker inside do to the overhead sodium lights that blazed brightly across the hanger ceiling. In a nice turn of luck, the interior cargo lights were turned on meaning he didn't have to stumble around in the dark. 'Nice, backup power must be on, since I don't have a flashlight, again.' He thought as he turned to Gale. "Can I go in?"

Gale nodded yes, indicating that Wolfe could enter the ship. After he had successfully climbed up the short access ladder, he surprised her by turning around and extending a helping hand to help her aboard. Wolfe had thought that it would be a nice gesture, a sort of piece offering, to be nice at this point. Once she was standing next to him in the Cargo area, Wolfe started to slowly walk around the much larger cargo hold then what he was used to in the Sidewinder.

He took his time walking around the hold inspecting the system panels that were active. Checking the various sized lockers placed here and there, taking his time looking at each one. He even sat on one of the two bunks, testing the firmness of the thin mattress pad. He was surprised at the enclosed head found at the opposite side of the stacked bunks, he was used to the open head design of the Sidewinder. Not like it mattered much being the sole occupant in a Sidewinder, privacy wasn't an issue. The galley was much larger than what he was used to and even had a refrigerated cooling unit. That was a nice touch, now he could have cold drinks when he wanted. He couldn't help but smile as he took in what he was seeing, it was still the same grey paint as his other ship but it was nice. The forward bulkhead to the cockpit was open but he chose to ignore it for the time being.

"You were right." He stole a glance at the woman next to him, silent for the first time since he met her. "This ship hasn't been use much, the last owner took good care of it. And it doesn't smell!" He joked in a halfhearted way, hoping to make her smile.

"It can't handle the cargo that the Cobra can." She quipped with a sarcastic smile. She was hoping for one last shot at selling the Cobra. "These things aren't a work horse like you're looking for." She spread her hands out wide indicating the Adder before she placed them firmly on her hips in a defiant manner. Wolfe knew she wasn't going to give up easily on the Cobra but it wasn't her choice and he knew that.

Not responding to her last ditch effort to sell the Cobra, he turned for the cockpit. He had been in a few Adders before he became a pilot as a kid, so he knew the general layout. He didn't like the fact that the pilots chair was on the right side of the flight deck but the simple swept curving features of the dash were simple and pleasant. He wished there was a way to move the flight controls and hud units to the other seat but didn't know of any engineers that did that level of customization. "Well you can't have everything your way." He thought to himself, as he walked between the pilot seats. Gale was still in the doorway, leaning up against the bulkhead frame with both arms crossed over her chest, still holding her hat in hand. Wolfe didn't turn around as he told her.

"I want it, Thirty-Five Thousand credits, right? Sold, where do I sign?" He didn't want to give her the time to respond about the other ship, his mind was made up and it was final. He turned around and casually leaned up against the pilots' chair trying to convey that his decision was final and he wasn't going to be persuaded any other way.

"Ok, yeah." She said in a dejected way, signaling defeat. "Thirty-Five k, you looking to trade that Sidewinder in as well?" She searched his face looking for anything that would indicate that there was still a chance to change his mind. Not seeing what she was looking, for she figured she had been lost this round and would get the next sucker. "I'll give you a good deal on it."

"No, no I think I'll keep it." He hadn't thought about that at all and wasn't sure about trading in his trusty Sidewinder. It was his first ship and it was given to him by his old flight instructor, so he didn't think that was even an option.

"We do offer free hanger storage space if you purchase a ship here." She placed her cowboy hat back on her head and tucked in loose strands of hair that fell in the odd places here and there. Wolfe took this as a sign that the negotiations were over and smiled outwardly.

"That's good. It's kind of hard to fly two ships at the same time." He replied as they both started to head out of the Adder.

The process for purchasing and transferring of ownership went by rather quickly, which surprised Wolfe3. He thought it would have taken longer than it did, but after a quick transfer of credits and a few signatures on a few various forms, he was the proud new owner of an Adder. During the process Gale, while still wasn't happy with her failed attempt at selling the Cobra, was pleasant and even joked a bit with the younger pilot. Even though he was young, she found him to be a decent enough fellow that was rather down to earth. In this line of work, she had met many a pilot, that had grandiose dreams and plans that could never be meet. It was nice to see someone that was grounded in reality for a change.

"Gale, thank you very much for the ship." Wolfe extended his hand in a final handshake of appreciation. He might not have like the pushy sales pitch, but wished to end the experience on a pleasant note.

"You're welcome. I'll have the Adder moved to the launch bay for you in thirty minutes." She shook his hand firmly. "If you know of anyone wanting to purchase a new ship, send em my way."

"I most certainly will." He said in a most sincere way before turning around and walking out of the shipyard hanger.

At the Sidewinder, Wolfe made quick work of removing items that he wanted to transfer over to his new ship. It wasn't like he that many personal items anyway. Compared too other commander's ships that he had been in, he had nothing of value at all. His ship was bare and empty, no pictures or souvenirs from places that he had visited. No knick-knacks stored or scattered about anywhere, just clothes, some tools, and food packets. It didn't take long to pack everything up, it was kind of saddening for him, that everything he own fit into two large duffels. "Well, possessions don't make the man." He said out loud to his now empty ship. With one final scan of the cargo hold, he hoisted both duffel bags over his shoulders and climbed out of the Sidewinder.

Outside at the launch pad control terminal, he set down both bags and sent the command to send his ship to long term storage. He was apprehensive about not seeing this ship that he had flown for so long but he knew that he needed something bigger and different. It was time for a change and he knew this was needed to be a better pilot.

The tug drone arrived after a few moments with its flashing lights and beeping warning horn. It had a single purpose, to move spacecraft around as commanded. Its simple programming left no room for recognizing human emotions. The drone was indifferent to the human pilot that stood there watching it complete its work. It wasn't programmed to understand the sad look on the human face, as the drone completed the assigned tasks of its programming. With a final sensor sweep for any obstacles in the immediate area, it set off. Wolfe watched as the tug gave a small jerky pull to the ship, as it started to roll away with it cautionary flashing lights and continuously beeping horns. The tug and ship slowly started to pull away and follow the designated taxi path to the storage hanger. He stood there for a few seconds watching the ship slowly gain distance from him. He wasn't sure when he would be back for it, but it would be there when he needed it. With one last parting glance at his old ship he turned to pick up his duffels and head to his new Adder.

At the launch pad of his new Adder, Wolfe3 took a quick glance at the pads maintenance terminal, it showed the ship to be fully powered up and all systems green. After walking to the ships access hatch, he threw his duffels onto the cargo floor that stood just above his shoulders and climbed aboard. Inside he found the access door control panel and pressed the lock button. With a smooth snick and clunk sound, the door lock and sealed into position. The cockpit was brightly light with all the Hud panels activated ready for use. He slowly lowered himself into the pilots seat for the first time, feeling the fabric and firm padding as he relaxed and became comfortable. It might be a new ship to him but the layout and placement of the instruments were instinctively familiar. Without much thought or effort, preflight and launch clearance were completed like normal.

With heavy reverberating thuds of vibrations ringing through the hull, the docking clamps releasing its grip on the ship. Wolfe tenderly applied vertical thrusters to gain altitude in the docking bay and applied forward thrust. He took his time feeling out the responsiveness of the Adder, as he had never flown one before and didn't want to make an expensive mistake the first time behind the controls.

Outside the no fire zone of the station, the pilot pushed the throttle to full power and began to dance the ship about getting used to the handling and abilities this new ship offered him. The Adder was more maneuverable then his old Sidewinder and soon enough he was grinning ear to ear, having fun flipping, swooping and rolling about as he flew. He was rather impressed with how responsive the ship was. On paper specs alone, the Sidewinder and Adder were evenly matched but he was surprised that a ship built for cargo was this agile. After playing with system power levels and boosting to top speed, Wolfe was impressed with his new purchase.

"This thing isn't even upgraded yet." He laughed out loud. He had done some upgrades in the past to his Sidewinder but setting up the ship just the way he wanted took time and planning. He wasn't sure how he was going to set this Adder up yet. He had pondered the possibilities that were in front of him, however it was always on the back burner and never more than a passing thought, till now. Fighting in the thing was out of the question, he wasn't that good of a pilot yet. Cargo and currier missions were his bread and butter for the moment, while boring at times, at least made him money. Mining could make some good money, again having no experience seemed a little daunting. He had thought about exploration but hadn't left the bubble and was a little apprehensive about exploring the black. If upgraded right, the Adder could get a good jump range and be a decent little explorer.

After checking his current heading, making sure he wouldn't fly into a star or planet, he pulled up the Galaxy map. After a few minutes of looking, Wolfe found a nearby high tech system that should have a decent outfitting station available. Not sure what he was going to do with his new purchase, he plotted his course, and activated the ships Frame Shift Drive.


End file.
